Exposure apparatus with laser device
First Claim
1. An exposure apparatus which illuminates a pattern of a first object with ultraviolet light from a laser device and exposes a second object with the ultraviolet light which has passed through the pattern of the first object, whereinthe laser device includes:
- a laser light generation section which generates single wavelength laser light in a wavelength range of from an infrared region to a visible region;
an optical modulating section which modulates the laser light generated by the laser light generation section;
an optical amplification section including an optical fiber amplifier which amplifies the laser light generated by the optical modulating section; and
a wavelength conversion section which performs wavelength conversion of the laser light amplified by the optical amplification section into ultraviolet light by using a nonlinear optical crystal; and
the optical modulating section performs pulse modulation of the laser light from the laser light generation section, and feeds the modulated laser light to the optical amplification section in a period in which the ultraviolet light is output, and the optical modulating section feeds light of an amplifiable wavelength zone to the optical amplification section in a range substantially not influencing an output of the ultraviolet light even in a period in which the ultraviolet light is not output.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exposure apparatus has a laser device that is small, easy to maintain, and capable of producing an output that is unlikely to be affected by optical surges occurring in the beginning of operation. A single-wavelength laser oscillator (11) supplies a laser beam (LB1) to a fiber optic amplifier (13) through an optical modulator (12). The amplified laser beam is split by splitters (14, 16-1 to 16-m), amplified by optical amplifier units (18-1 to 18-n) and supplied through a fiber bundle (19) to a wavelength converter (20), which in turn converts the split beams into ultraviolet laser radiation (LB5) for use as exposure light. The optical modulator (12) outputs light pulses during the generation of ultraviolet light. The optical modulator (12) also produces laser radiation during the absence of ultraviolet light, but the laser radiation has substantially the same average output and a considerably low peak compared with that during the generation of ultraviolet light.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. An exposure apparatus which illuminates a pattern of a first object with ultraviolet light from a laser device and exposes a second object with the ultraviolet light which has passed through the pattern of the first object, wherein
the laser device includes: -
a laser light generation section which generates single wavelength laser light in a wavelength range of from an infrared region to a visible region;
an optical modulating section which modulates the laser light generated by the laser light generation section;
an optical amplification section including an optical fiber amplifier which amplifies the laser light generated by the optical modulating section; and
a wavelength conversion section which performs wavelength conversion of the laser light amplified by the optical amplification section into ultraviolet light by using a nonlinear optical crystal; and
the optical modulating section performs pulse modulation of the laser light from the laser light generation section, and feeds the modulated laser light to the optical amplification section in a period in which the ultraviolet light is output, and the optical modulating section feeds light of an amplifiable wavelength zone to the optical amplification section in a range substantially not influencing an output of the ultraviolet light even in a period in which the ultraviolet light is not output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An exposure apparatus which illuminates a first object with ultraviolet light from a laser device and exposes a second object with the ultraviolet light which has passed through the pattern of the first object, wherein
the laser device includes a laser light generation section which generates single wavelength laser light, an optical amplification section including an optical fiber amplifier which amplifies the laser light, and a wavelength conversion section which performs wavelength conversion of the amplified laser light, and a light feed section is provided which feeds light to the optical amplification section in a condition different from that in a period in which the ultraviolet light is output even in a period in which the ultraviolet light is not output.
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26. An exposing method which illuminates a first object with ultraviolet light from a laser device and which exposes a second object with the ultraviolet light which has passed through the pattern of the first object, comprising:
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amplifying single wavelength laser light by an optical fiber amplifier, and converting in wavelength the laser light thus amplified into ultraviolet light, and feeding light to the optical fiber amplifier in a condition different from that in a period in which the ultraviolet light is output even in a period in which the ultraviolet light is not output. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of manufacturing an exposure apparatus which illuminates a pattern of a first object with ultraviolet light from a laser device and which exposes a second object with the ultraviolet light which has passed through the pattern of the first object, comprising configuring the laser device by disposing, with a predetermined positional relationship,
a laser light generation section which generates single wavelength laser light in a wavelength range of from an infrared region to a visible region, an optical modulating section which modulates the laser light generated by the laser light generation section, an optical amplification section including an optical fiber amplifier which amplifies the laser light generated by the optical modulation section, and a wavelength conversion section which performs wavelength conversion of the laser light amplified by the optical amplification section into ultraviolet light by using a nonlinear optical crystal, and the optical modulating section is configured such that the laser light output from the laser light generation section is pulse-modulated and fed to the optical amplification section in a period in which the ultraviolet light is output, and light of an amplifiable wavelength zone is fed to the optical amplification section in a range substantially not influencing output of the ultraviolet light even in a period in which the ultraviolet light is not output.
Specification